Pro-choice perspectives and arguments

Abortion has been practiced in every society that has been studied, and in the United States was legal until the mid-1800s (National Abortion Federation). As a fundamental part of a free society, access to medically sound and safe abortion practices must be preserved. When abortion is outlawed, the practice simply moves underground. At the very least, abortion rights should be maintained to protect public health and prevent women from seeking what are known as "back alley" abortions by untrained individuals or even self-administered pregnancy terminations. However, abortion is a reasonable and in some cases ethical response to an unwanted pregnancy. Bringing a child into the world without preparation is more immoral than removing the few cells that comprise the embryo: which is not a fetus. Moreover, many women become pregnant due to rape or incest and to carry that child would exacerbate the trauma. Abortion should remain legal in cases that preserve the physical health of the mother, to preserve the mental health of the mother, in cases of rape and incest, when the unborn child had medical problems or birth defects, or for social and/or economic reasons.

According to Seletz, abortion is "one of the most common and safest surgical procedures performed in the United States." When abortion is illegal it leads to health complications and in many cases, death. In South America, an estimated five thousand women each year die due to unsanitary or unsafe illegal abortions (Ross). If the government protects its citizens against harmful drugs and crime, then it should also step in to prevent the practice of unsafe abortion. Doctors and other qualified health professionals must be performing the service. The only way to keep abortion safe is to keep abortion legal. When abortion is banned like it is in some South American countries, women who are pregnant risk their lives to obtain a procedure that should be made safe and legal.

Abortion may also be indicated in preserving the mental health of the woman. An unwanted pregnancy places undue mental strain on a person who might already be suffering from trauma due to being raped. Even if the woman was not raped, she might have gotten pregnant because of contraceptive failure, which does occur. Condoms, which are necessary to prevent sexually transmitted diseases as well as pregnancy, have an estimated 15% failure rate; even the birth control pill has up to a 9% failure rate (Fu, Darroch, Haas & Ranjit). Women who are otherwise responsible can become pregnant but out of no fault of their own. Keeping abortion legal ensures that all women have the right to determine their own destiny; no woman should be forced to carry a child who was actively trying to prevent pregnancy in the first place. Even if a woman was trying to become pregnant she might need to get an abortion in cases in which doctors revealed serious birth defects. To prevent unwanted physical and emotional strain not just on the mother but on the father, the extended family, and the community, abortions should be allowed in extreme cases.